Shakespeare's An Age of Kings (Richard II / Henry IV / Henry V / Henry VI / Richard III)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Julian Glover, Robert Hardy, Sean ConneryBrand: WHV
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Black & White, Box set, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: Unknown
Running Time: 947 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-03-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- In this fifteen-part inventive series based on William Shakespeare's history plays, the turmoil, power, mystery and frailty of the English crown in the medieval ages is laid bare in epic style. This series originally aired as live broadcasts and was recorded on film. Starring Sean Connery, Julian Glover, Eileen Atkins, Robert Hardy, Angela Baddeley, Judi Dench and John Warner.Running Time: 900 min
Movie Reviews of Shakespeare's An Age of Kings (Richard II / Henry IV / Henry V / Henry VI / Richard III)
Movie Review: An Age of Kings: Brilliant Bard still fit for royalty and royal audiences
Summary: 5 Stars
Today, it's hard to imagine what a difficult undertaking this would be: All of the major history plays---Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Henry V, Henry VI Parts 1,2 and 3 and Richard III--- truncated (slightly) to 15 hours of television. For 30 weeks, on every second Thursday night, an hour of The Bard's works was broadcast into the homes of Great Brittan. Picked up by public television in America, it was for a generation the benchmark of televised Shakespeare. Not seen for decades, the big question was, of course, would An Age of Kings stand up to memory . . . or would the years date it absurdly?
Actually, the answer is yes. And yes. On the negative side, the technical work, especially in the earlier shows, leaves much to be desired. Grainy black-and-white is a given, but the camera seems sometimes to have a mind of its own, and the mind isn't always on Shakespeare. The focus drifts aimlessly, the heads of speaking performers are cut off, and generally there are moments of an unforgivably amateur look. Further, the style of acting is not one we're used to anymore, and, more than anything else, this is most off-putting. Actors at the time had a tendency to "gabble" their lines---that is, rely so heavily on the blank verse to carry the lengthy speeches that the audience feels pummeled by the heavily stressed beats in the iambic pentameter. No wonder An Age of Kings was so wonderfully parodied in "So That's The Way You Like It," a sketch from Beyond the Fringe
However, the plus side more than makes up for these shortcomings. First, consider that this is really the first rendering of the complete histories anywhere. Some of the plays, to be sure, had been done in succession, but the choice to do all eight was surely a brave one that paid off mightily. Although written separately throughout Shakespeare's career, the plays do ultimately fit together in a sweeping saga of the British Monarchy. Seeing the same performers play the same characters in successive works fills out a theme and narrative that would be otherwise missing; an added pleasure is to see a very young Dame Judi Dench in the small role of Katherine in Henry V, and an absolutely spectacular Sean Connery in the not -so-unsubstantial role Hotspur.
More Shakespeare's An Age of Kings (Richard II / Henry IV / Henry V / Henry VI / Richard III) reviews:
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1 2 3 4 5
Summary of Shakespeare's An Age of Kings (Richard II / Henry IV / Henry V / Henry VI / Richard III)
Synopsis:Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 03/31/09
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
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